The Clare People Archive

A CHANGE to the Litter Pollution Act proved a potentially costly lesson to two Clare candidates.

Independent candidates Cllr James Breen and Jim Connolly were told to remove their election signage or face a hefty fine from Clare County Council.

The warning came following a reminder being issued by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government stating that changes to legislation last year meant that election posters could not be erected until after the Taoiseach went to the President and dissolved the Dáil.

Under an amendment to the Litter Pollution act in 2009 the time period from which posters can be put up commences on the date of the order for the holding of the poll or 30 days prior to the date of the poll, whichever is the shorter period.

Both candidates said they were unaware to the changes to this legislation when they began work on their poster campaign.

Mr Connolly was particularly critical of the council’s speed and eagerness to implement this legislation.

He told

CLARE County Council this week confirmed that it had spent almost all of the money it was allocated to care for the county’s roads – completing all work with the exception of two projects.

Fears were expressed at the end of last year by Deputy Joe Carey (FG) that the roadwork’s budget would not be spent and therefore lost.

In total the local authority spent € 22.687 million on all road works.

The allocation confirmed by the Department of Transport in relation to Regional and Local Roads for 2010 was € 15, 586,498, € 15, 281,462 of which was spent by the council.

The shortfall of approximately € 300,000 was attributed to the fact that a sum of € 500,000, allocated in respect of the Killaloe By-Pass/ Shannon Crossing, could not be spent as planning and design stages documentation were under consideration by the Department of Transport.

According to senior engineer Tom Tiernan, “To all intents and purposes the council completed its Roadworks Programme in 2010. Any minor elements, which were not completed, were as such due to circumstances outside of the council’s control. For example, it became apparent in early summer 2010 that it would not be possible to spend a sum of € 300,000 allocated to Blakes Corner, Ennistymon, due to the complexity and sensitivity of the procedures involved because of the conflict between the proposed junction improvement and the location of adjacent protected structures.

“The Roadworks Programme was implemented systematically while taking account of the specific needs of the various work sites involved, the climatic conditions required in each case, optimisation and allocation of plant resources available etc. Certain difficulties were encountered both at the beginning and the end of 2010 because of the very severe weather conditions, which pertained. Certain improvisations and strategy alterations were required but ultimately the job was completed as effectively as it could be in the prevailing circumstances.”

Among the routes to benefit from road improvement works were the N68 at Edenvale, Caherea, Lissycasey and Kilrush, the N67 at Moyasta and the R352 in Tulla. The main road north of Lisdoonvarna to Corkscrew Hill has also been upgraded while the road between Corkscrew Hill and Ballyvaughan is currently being upgraded. Works are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks at Ballyduff beg, Inagh on the N85.

ONE young west Clare man is fighting back against the current cynical reaction to politics by preparing to put his own name forward for the General Election.

Brian Markham, a member of the well know Kilmurry McMahon family, is determined to have his name on the ballot sheet on polling day as an Independent candidate.

The 23-year-old told The Clare People he “wants to make a difference” and “go out and do something”.

A qualified PE teacher, he currently works in O’Flaherty’s Electrical Shop in Ennis.

A keen sportsman, he has represented the county and province in athletics at international level.

He has been involved with Shannon Gaels and Coolmeen GAA clubs and is known for organising several Community Games events for local children.

A past pupil of St Flannan’s College in Ennis, he attended university in London.

“During these four years I began to learn how important it is to make your opinions heard and how important it is to have a representative that you can trust in. I was an active member of the Students Union where we were told about the issues troubling the student body. It was then our duty to convey the thoughts of the students to the relevant boards and do our best to get different rules and improvements implemented,” he said.

“I have now been back home in Ireland for five months. During this time I have witnessed possibly one of the worst periods in Irish politics. The country is in an extremely poor state and this is primarily down to mismanagement and big name politics.

“In the time I have been home I have seen several of my friends unwillingly being forced to leave our wonderful country in search of employment and what looks to be a better future than the one that is in store in this country,” he added.

“I would like to make clear that I do believe in co-operating with big business and foreign multinationals because of the jobs and growth they bring to our country. However, pandering to the banks has resulted in a loss of sovereignty, in that we are bound by conditions imposed by the EU and IMF bailout, high unemployment and a generation of our best and brightest leaving by the day. This is where traditional politics has let us down.”

He believes that Independent TDs will be very influential in the next Dáil.

Among the issues that he believes the election campaign should be fought on are the demise of Shannon Airport and the Shannon area, the future of Ennis General Hospital and the need for improvement to local infrastructure.

IN LAUNCHING his campaign to be elected to the 31st Dáil, Independent candidate Cllr James Breen has told The Clare People that expenses for TDs should be “abolished altogether”, forcing them to live off their salary € 90,000 a year.

Cllr Breen, who became the only Independent to top the poll in a Clare election in 2002 and the first nonparty member to be elected in the county in 54 years, has called for the abolition of expenses as part of “a complete reform of government”, both at national and local level.

“It’s not an election gimmick,” Cllr Breen told The Clare People this week. “There has to be a complete reform of politics, a meaningful reform of government and that includes Dáil and county council level.

“There are 166 TDs in Dáil Éireann. That’s too much. Dáil representation should be reduced.

“The Senate should be meaningfully reformed or abolished. The numbers of county councillors should be reduced.

“We should reduce the numbers of foreign conferences that’s costing the country millions of euros every year. We should reduce Dáil expenses and abolish them altogether and oblige TDs to live on their salary with no expenses,” added Cllr Breen.

The Clare County Council website, which publishes county councillors’ expenses on-line, shows that Cllr Breen claimed € 28,739.89 from June 2009, when he was re-elected to the local authority, to June 2010.

This figure includes his basic salary of € 8,361.96 for the last six months of 2009 and € 9,717.75 for 2010. During the 12 months he also claimed € 4,368.61 for attending conferences, while he availed of the annual allowances in those two six month periods of € 2442.13 in 2009 and € 2,947.44 in 2010.

“We need openness and transparency in government, which we haven’t had over the last number of years,” continued Cllr Breen in championing a overhaul of the expenses regime. “The TD earns nearly three times the average wage of people and they should be able to live on that. The person driving to and from Shannon working on the average industrial wage is getting no travelling time.

“I have no qualms if expenses are abolished in the morning. It’s not a gimmick to get elected. It’s something I believe in,” added Cllr Breen.

During his five years in Dáil Éireann from 2002 to 2007, Cllr Breen was entitled to the Independent TDs allowance. Currently the allowance given to Independent members of the Dáil is over € 40,000 per annum.

CLARE’S only retiring member of Dáil Éireann, Deputy Tony Killeen, is set to receive over a quarter of a million euro lump sum for his years of service in Leinster House, which also takes into account his time as being both a Minister of State and full member of Cabinet.

The lump sum pay-off to Fianna Fáil’s biggest vote-getter in Clare over the past two decades with 19 years Dáil service to his name is part of overall payments to retiring TDs, which is set to cost the Irish exchequer over € 10m during the next cou- ple of years.

Deputy Killeen will receive a € 276,163 once off payment for the 19 years he represented Clare in the Dáil, while his pension will be worth € 68,984 when it kicks in.

Deputy Killeen first entered political life when he was elected to Clare County Council in 1985. He retained his seat in the 1991 election and he served as both chairman of Clare County Council and the Shannon Status Committee before winning his Dáil seat in 1992 and retaining it in subsequent elections in 1997, 2002 and 2007.

Deputy Killeen’s distinction of holding down junior ministerial and full-ministerial portfolios over the past seven years will ensure that he will benefit from better pension terms than retiring deputies who were backbench TDs.

Under the pension structures for retiring TDs, former ministers are deemed to be office holders and are therefore paid an office holders’ allowance on top of their TDs salary.

Deputy Killeen was elevated to ministerial rank by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2004 when he was made Minister of State for Labour Affairs. After the 2007 election he became the first ever Minister of State for Environment and Energy, while in 2008 he became Minister of State for Fisheries and Forestry. His elevation to full Cabinet status came in 2010 when Brian Cowen became Taoiseach and made him Minister for Defence.

Deputy Killeen is one over 40 current Dáil deputies, who have announced their retirement ahead of the General Election, the most high profile of these being the man who appointed him to Cabinet, Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

A BUNRATTY singer has thrown his hat into the ring, in an attempt to represent Ireland in this year’s Eurovision song contest.

Gari Deegan (27) is involved in one of the acts vying for a place in the competition in May, having received an phone call from a music promoter a few weeks ago. Gari is part of a four-person band which will take to the stage on The Late Late Show on Friday week to participate in the Irish final of the competition. Although Jedward are the hot favourites to secure the right to represent Ireland in the Eurovision, nevertheless Gari believes that he is in with a shout.

His call-up came out of the blue and he grabbed the opportunity to shine on the national stage.

“I got a phone call from Willie Kavanagh of EMI in December. I thought it was a joke. I had recorded with songwriter Ray Fean who is originally from Shannon and who is based in Belgium. EMI got hold of one of the songs I sang, ‘Ode To A Woman’. He said he had put together a group and asked was I interested in getting involved. I was honest and said I was not a fan of Eurovision but I said I would go and see how it goes. He asked me to go to Dublin and we recorded at Windmill Lane Studios,” he explained. Gari and his fellow band members, Shane Creevy (Dublin), Marlyn Bane (Galway) and Tammy Browne (Kildare), have been signed up by EMI records and their grouping has, as of yet, not received an official name – Gari refers to them as a “mystery quartet”!

“We are not going to have a name until nearer the time,” Gari told The Clare People .

Gari did not know any of the others prior to meeting them to record the Eurovision entry, but has enjoyed getting to know them over the past few weeks and says their four voices blend well together. They will sing a motown-type song titled ‘Shine On’, in their efforts to win votes.

Gari has performed musically for several years, while he also models with Assets in Dublin. He features in television advertising, the most recent of which has been his role in the 3 mobile advertising campaign. He is also a DJ with Spin South West and divides his time between the midwest, Dublin and London. Although a big music fan, he has never had any major fondness for the Eurovision – but is slowly coming around and has enjoyed the past few weeks! “I have got rid of all the hesitation of Eurovision now and will go for it,” he said.

In advance of the live performance on The Late Late Show on Friday week, Gari and his fellow Eurovision hopefuls will feature in a documentary to be shown on RTÉ television this Friday evening. Gari is urging the people of Clare to support him on Friday night week, by casting their votes. “The vote will be divided into 50 per cent from a jury of industry professionals and 50 per cent public vote,” he said.

“The focus will be on Jedward. They are favourites to win it but you would never know. We are going to go and enjoy it. The song is good,” he said.

THE pioneering work of renowned Clare musician Peadar O’Loughlin dating over 50 years has been brought to a new generation of traditional music lovers thanks to a decision by Na Piobairí Uilleann to re-release of the storied Seancheol ar an Seannós album.

The famous album, originally recorded in 1960 on the short-lived SPOL label set up by Breandán Breathnach, featured the legendary Kilmaleyman on flute and east Galway fiddler Aggie White.

“It is a measure of the musicianship of both Peadar and Aggie and indeed the depth of appreciation of Breandán Breathnach that this beautiful recording resonates today,” a spokesperson for Na Piobairí Uilleann told The Clare People .

In describing the recording as “an archival gem”, the Piobairí Uilleann has called the historic recording as “a perfect blending of fiddle and flute these two musicians illustrate in well chosen melodies the richness of Irish folk-music”.

“In his original sleeve notes, Breathnach extols the virtues of this wonderful duet and details Peadar and Aggie’s contemporary achievements as prominent traditional musicians during the 1950s.

“Aggie Whyte, who hails from the Ballinakill district in Galway, comes from generations of musicians; her father, Tommy Whyte, was a member of the famous Ballinakill Céilí Band. She was awarded the Gold Medal in the competition for traditional fiddle playing at the Oireachtas in 1958 and in the same year with Peadar O’Loughlin won the competition for duets at this musical festival.

“Peadar O’Loughlin, who had four years previously won the competition for flute playing, comes from Kilmaley, County Clare. He is an all-round musician, having many firsts to his credit for flute, fiddle and pipe playing,”

‘Seancheol ar an Seannós’ was officially launched as as part of the Breandán Breathnach Commemoration at Henrietta Street in Dublin. O’Loughlin, a longtime member of the Tulla Céilí Band, was awarded the Hall of Fame Award at the annual TG4 Gradam Ceoil awards in 2005.

PLANNING permission for a planned train station at Crusheen is due to be lodged with Clare County Council in the coming weeks. The Clare People has learned that details of the much anticipated station will be release this February, when final plans are lodged with the planning section of the local authority.

While no firm timetable has been announced for the construction of the station, Iarnród Éireann confirmed last week that construction will commence in the summer of 2011 with the stations being completed by early 2012 – should planning permission be granted.

This follow a long running campaign by a local group to secure a stop on the Western Rail Corridor in Crusheen. The corridor, which was officially reopened last year, currently has stations at Sixmilebridge, Ennis and Gort. Locals believe that a large number of commuters living in the north and east Clare areas will use the service once it is completed.

According to Clare Fianna Fáil General Election candidate Dr John Hillery, the new station could prove to be a “shot in the arm” for the local economy. The construction phases of the project will provide a number of jobs for the local area while there could also make the region more attractive for business people looking to set up new operations.

The new station will feature a platform and ticket vending machine, with a number of help points for those with mobility and sensory impairments. Bicycle parking and car parking facilities will also be provided.

“It makes economic sense for a rail stop to be provided at Crusheen as it will become the only stop on the stretch of the Western Rail Corridor between Ennis and Athenry. Crusheen also is an ideal location for people coming from Ruan, Gort, Ballyline, Corofin, Tubber, Boston and elsewhere in north Clare as well as Tulla and other areas of east Clare,” he said. “I would like to congratulate members of the local community and Clare County Council for working together to putting forward the strongest possible case for the opening of a rail stop at Crusheen. I also wish to acknowledge the contribution of my colleague Deputy Tony Killeen in the campaign.”

WHILE flu activity in the mid-west has reportedly now peaked and is declining, all major local hospitals are maintaining a visiting ban until this year’s flu breakout subsides further.

The number of people presenting with flu-like-illness (ILI) to GPs has dropped to a rate of 110 per 100,000, down from 171.4 per 100,000 last week. The drop has occurred in all age groups except for those aged 5 to 14 years. This fall has also been seen in the number of flu related calls to GP out of hours on call services.

A spokesperson for the HSE reminded the public however that visiting restrictions remain in place at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Dooradoyle.

“Unfortunately some members of the public continue to visit the hospital and this puts the health and welfare of patients at risk,” she said.

Visitors are asked not to visit the hospital unless it is absolutely essential and visiting is restricted to critically ill patients only, one visitor per critically ill patient and confined to visiting times only.

Visitors who may be unwell or have flu like symptoms should not visit the hospital.

The elderly, children, pregnant women or young adults, those with chronic illnesses or vulnerable others are also advised not to visit

While attendance at the Accident and Emergency Department should only take place if absolutely necessary, outpatient, day care services and routine hospital admissions are not affected.

“We once again ask the public to cooperate fully with the hospital instruction, to protect the health of their family members and others and not visit the hospital,” the spokesperson said.

“All appropriate infection control measures are being taken to deal with this situation. These visiting restrictions will remain in place until the situation has been resolved.”

So far this season, 749 cases have been hospitalised with flu. Of these, 72 per cent have been due to the H1N1 (2009) influenza strain.

Over the past couple of weeks, the proportion of all hospitalised cases that have been due to influenza B has risen and now stands at 17 per cent.

The HSE explained that the rise in influenza B highlights the importance of getting seasonal vaccine for those in the at risk groups.

“It’s still not too late to get the vaccine from your GP.

“Although intensity is declining, influenza is still circulating in the community, and seasonal vaccination provides good protection against all types of flu,” the spokesperson said.

ONE of the county’s best known policemen is to take up a new post in which he will move from one side of the county to the other.

Detective Garda Michael McDonagh is to leave Kilrush Garda Station next week and take up a post in the Immigration Unit at Shannon Garda Station.

The Miltown Malbay native has worked in west Clare for most of his career in An Garda Síochána, where he has been stationed since 1985. During the past 25 years, he has been involved in several serious investigations in Kilrush and the west Clare area.

Mr McDonagh is a well-known personality across the county, not least through his association with the GAA. He was the chairman of the Clare County Board between 2003 and 2007.

He is one of three gardaí to take up posts in immigration at Shannon airport. He will be joined by gardaí Adrian Mullowney and Barry Walsh. Mr Mullowney has been stationed in the district office at Killaloe Garda Station for a number of years, having previously worked in the Clare Divisional Traffic Corps. Mr Walsh has been based at Quin Garda Station for several years.

They will replace three members of the immigration unit who have recently retired – John Talty, Brian Brennan and Larry Donnellan.

The Immigration Unit is attached to Shannon Garda Station. Two de- tective sergeants and 12 detective gardaí operate the immigration unit, which ensures immigration laws are implemented. Gardaí attached to this unit have responsibility for checking visas and passports and ensure legislation is adhered to.

Inspector Tom Kennedy, who is in charge of policing in Shannon, said the immigration unit plays a key role in policing at the airport.

“It is a valuable unit. It assists with security at the airport in that it provides a back-up. Its members implements all the regulations and laws regarding people coming into the country in terms of visas and passports and the length of time they can stay,” he said.